On the Move

Last month was full of lots of events so I'll try my best to keep my summary succinct.

My brother Destin came to visit in the beginning of May. This was a BIG deal for me as he had previously chosen to go elsewhere like Japan or Vietnam instead of spending the money to visit his sister. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a cold and still had a perpetual cough when he arrived. Nevertheless, we started off with a bang.

The first couple of days we spent in the heart of Brisbane, exploring Southbank and all it has to offer. We discovered the Buddha's Birth Day Festival was the following day and returned to do more and see what was at the festival. Did you know Buddha used to be a prince? 

To finish off the night Destin and I went to Eat Street. We just shared a few items and called it good, but Destin loved it so much we went back the next night with Matt and got something like 6 or 7 dishes throughout the night to share. I think we averaged around $30pp but considering the amazing food we got I think it was better than had we gone to a fancy restaurant.

Saturday we spent the afternoon at a very small disc golf course Destin found at a park about an hour away. It was a lot of fun, but I'm not sure the trip would be worth it on a regular basis.

Monday was labour day here so I had booked a horseback riding day trip for Destin and I. This was likely more for me than him, but he agreed to it. Slickers Horseback Riding does these midweek trips once a month where you have about 4hrs + horseback riding and a big lunch by the lake. This trip they also had swimming with the horses. Destin did great even though he was the least experienced and rusty of the group. We were able to do quite a few trots and canters throughout and getting in the lake bareback was fun!

The following couple of days we spent at Tangalooma Island Resort. Sakura was a big hit with the many tourists and as we waited for the ferry I had a large group of Asians crowding around me and actually taking pictures of Sakura. They didn't speak any English, but I think they were very worried about her lack of socks from their gestures to her feet.

Unfortunately, our first day it just rained a lot. The boys took a nap and I took Sakura for a walk when the sun decided to come out. We had a lovely walk on the beach and watched the Pelicans.

Later that night we got to feed the wild dolphins. You don't spend much time with them or anything, but it was still a neat experience. We finished off the night eating Peking Duck in our room.

The major downfall of that first day was that I got horrendously sick. I basically couldn't move and had hot and cold flushes. Matt had to watch Sakura for me. I spent most of the night getting up to go to the bathroom. We think it was a combination of my cold/flu and perhaps some bad coleslaw? Matt also ate the coleslaw and had to spend some time on the toilet.

The second day was beautiful. I skipped breakfast and was feeling mostly better by the afternoon thankfully. We walked to the wrecks farther up the beach (20min walk) to do some snorkelling. We didn't do much, but it was still nice to relax on the beach and see all the fish. The visibility was better than the last time I had visited.

Destin spent the rest of his trip in the Gold Coast touring around on his own. This worked out well since I was recovering from my illness. We had a scare the morning of his flight though as it had been cancelled. He was able to get the last ticket on the only flight to Sydney, but at a huge cost. I think he ended up missing his connecting flight to the U.S. but it all worked out eventually. Overall due to late and missed flights on his way to and from Australia he ended up not saving much on the flight at all. Tigerair called him later to give him his credit which the international call cost as much as the credit. Oy.

Mothers day this year was awesome! As my first "real" mothers day it made a huge difference to actually have a child when I got an adorable hand made card and mug from Sakura (courtesy of Little Legends Early Learning Centre). I told Matt I wanted flowers and breakfast and he delivered, with an adorable rainbow teddy bear as well. Additionally, we had a church activity where the men served all the women dinner. It was a nice way to catch up with some ladies I don't see often. 

Other events for May included a girl's night out with facials and karaoke. It was a lot of fun, but I still had a cough that became uncontrollable if someone made me laugh. Karaoke doesn't work well with a cough either so I hope we will do it again. The most surprising part of the night was that I reconnected with a friend that I had known when I had studied abroad. Jordan and I were often together at group YSA activities and we used to have pancakes at her house a lot after an activity. I didn't know she was in Brisbane so I hope we will have lots of opportunities to catch up and meet each other's families. Another day we went to a 1 year birthday party for my friend Cate's son Finley. He is such a happy boy and it will be crazy to see Sakura and him playing when they can both walk an talk together!

I also attended a Teddy Bear Picnic at a nearby park with Sakura and some ladies from my mum's group. They had face painting, balloons, music, and giant shaded tents for us to sit under. It was a fun morning. Later that week I also attended a Gluten Free Expo at the Brisbane Convention Centre. This was awesome because every stall had samples and they were all gluten free! I did have to check labels for dairy though.

The gluten free expo was well timed because earlier that week I met with a naturopath recommended by my doctor (at the same clinic). After reviewing my medical history she determined I clearly have more going on than just the MTHFR mutation problems. It seems evident I have pyrrole disorder and potential another autoimmune condition affecting my thyroid. Add to that gut issues and I sound like one big mess! Truthfully though I eat better and try to be healthier than I ever have been in my life. What is the solution then? Well, I have to do a few updated tests, but she said I really should go on a Paleo diet. Gluten, dairy, and sugar are all really bad inflammatory foods for anyone with autoimmune conditions. She at least said that I should do this at a pace that works for me, but try to go off all gluten and dairy right away. How did I respond to this? I went and bought a doughnut, some chocolate, and ate some cake at an activity, etc. This might be a very slow pace, but after Sakura had some bad diaper rashes after my binge week I clearly need to take this more seriously. My diet affects more than just me.

Now I am getting better at getting rid of all gluten and dairy, and I am trying to use only natural sugars like honey and maple syrup in my baking. I'm at least doing way better at meal planning with Matt and for the most part we are having healthier dinners like stir fry with lots of vegetables. I'm learning I can cook with Sakura even if she just wants to be held as I can put her on my back in the Ergo 360 carrier if needed.

Massaman Curry and Homemade GF Bread

Sakura is now 7 months old! She is sick again unfortunately, but she is as happy as ever. She can sit up on her own and crawl without a problem. She is also gotten very chatty and likes to talk a lot! One of her favourite toy is a stand-up play table which she surprised me one day by pulling herself up to it on her own. It's hard to imagine this regularly happy child used to be fussy all the time with reflux. I'm glad things are better, but I'm still waiting for that day where she sleeps through the night. In fact, just sleeping for 3+ hours at a time on a regular basis would be nice. She is now in her own room and I have a spare mattress next to her cot for difficult nights. Right now I can expect to be in there from 4am till 6:30am awake time.

Sakura and her friend Jackson watching a show together. 

I still have my Pathways class every week. The math is still really simple and easy for me so I find I get a little bored in class. It is still good to get a refresher course in algebra and it makes me feel good when I remember it's something I am good at. The best part about the class has been the book review as I chose to re-read the Barefoot Investor book. After doing the budget for class and the other material I am reading I am really motivated to get better at managing our finances! We just don't have a good plan for saving money.

Matt has a variable income which always makes it hard to budget, but we have always had enough to cover any expenses without carefully watching every purchase. Well that may change because one of his major clients went under liquidation and they owed us approximately $11,000. We are lucky this didn't destroy us as I have checked every avenue and it is likely we will never see any of that money. This did really hit our plans for visiting family and some other household items we were hoping to replace. To my surprise, my mom decided she would pay for us to come visit for Sakura's 1st birthday in exchange for Matt helping paint their house. Matt's family was also willing to chip in so we could make sure to visit them as well. We have been blessed despite the huge loss to the company. After all, we could have been the unfortunate company that paid a $30,000 deposit for their fitout only to lose it all and get no work done.

Well June should be interesting as Matt leaves to Japan with his siblings to hopefully connect with some unknown relatives and tour around. He will be gone four 11 days so it will be just me, Sakura and the cat. In case you are wondering how Shade is doing with mobile Sakura, see the short video below (I couldn't load the full version).